There were no introductions necessary when Stone burst onto the stage at Deaf Institute for the penultimate night of their sold out UK tour. The Liverpool rockers were coming to the end of a lengthy tour which has seen them play packed venues from Bristol to Glasgow.
The buzzing atmosphere was appropriately set by the support acts, Hazmat and Seb Lowe. There has been a lot of praise surrounding Seb Lowe at the moment, with his witty style of protest punk becoming popular on TikTok in 2021 and earning him acclaim ever since. He closes his set with a stand-out song called ‘iPhone’, a track that cleverly pokes fun at both the fragility of the human race and the best-selling mobile. As he leaves the stage with a nod and a smile, Seb Lowe is definitely one to watch in 2022.
With the crowd ready to go, it was time for Stone to unleash their genre of ‘Post-Apocalyptic Scally Rock’ on the iconic Deaf Institute. They launched into ‘Keep Running’ at breakneck speed, a fitting opening to the proceedings that were about to take place. Stone are an amalgamation of everything that a good post-punk band needs. Their visceral songs are matched by a stage presence that invokes chaos and control. The crowd play up to lead singer Fin Power’s every order, as he launches himself over the barrier and into a sea of flailing arms. “Are we still friends?”, he asks as he apologises to anyone caught in the crossfire. Though his sentiments seem genuine, his smile suggests it will not be the last time tonight.
The band introduced some new material in the set which shows a lot of promise as Stone look to hit the ground running in 2022. Their recent single, ‘Stupid’ is met with delight from the audience, which is made up of screaming teenagers and aging punks who all seem to be lapping it up as much as eachother. Stone really are a band of the people, despite Power’s worries he may come across as disingenuous due to his background. Power is the son of Cast frontman and former La’s bassist, John Power. But the comparisons stop at the surname, Fin Power is a star in his own right.
The Liverpool quartet become a five-piece as they say their goodbyes, inviting their guitar tech onstage to take up rhythm duties on ‘Leave It Out’. The track was Stone’s debut single and is met with arguably the biggest roar of the night, though there were a few in contention. Both the band and the crowd descend into a frenzy, with Power joining in the moshpit to really top things off. As the band leave the stage, a brief moment of calm is welcomed whilst everyone tries to compose themselves before disappearing into the night. For those who were unsure as to what just happened, that was Stone.
And nothing can quite prepare you for it.
Article: Curtis Cooper
Photos: Lena Lang
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Tags: deaf institute / neighbourhood weekender / Seb Lowe / Stone